#1
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Charlaine Harris
is at her best in this alternate history of the United States where magic is an
acknowledged but despised power in this third installment of the Gunnie Rose
series.
Picking up right where A Longer Fall left off, this thrilling third
installment follows Lizbeth Rose as she takes on one of her most dangerous
missions yet: rescuing her estranged partner, Prince Eli, from the Holy Russian
Empire. Once in San Diego, Lizbeth is going to have to rely upon her sister
Felicia, and her growing Grigori powers to navigate her way through this
strange new world of royalty and deception in order to get Eli freed from jail
where he’s being held for murder.
Russian Cage continues to ramp up the momentum with more of everything
Harris’ readers adore her for with romance, intrigue, and a deep dive into the
mysterious Holy Russian Empire.
Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Gunnie Rose series!
For book two, A Longer Fall, click HERE.
Book
3
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Audiobook (US) ~ Hardcover (US)
Saga Press (Simon & Schuster)
Erica
– ☆☆☆☆☆
The Russian Cage is the third (probably final) installment in the Gunnie
Rose series. Not a standalone, must be read in series order.
In a mix of dry narration, intriguing world-building, and an exciting political
conspiracy, the Gunnie Rose series has been one of the most original series
I've read to date. Set in what I assume is an alternate version of the
depression era, the United States have been dissolved, California now under the
control of the Holy Russian Empire.
Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie, offering paid protection to escort precious cargo
across the continent, which is how she met Eli and was pulled into his life,
where she found a little sister she never knew existed.
Said little sister has secrets of her own, sequestered in an academy where she
learns how to handle her magic, while also providing the life-saving blood
transfusions for the tsar, Alexei Romanov. The sisters share correspondence,
writing in code as the letters are read by the professors, where Felicia warns
Lisbeth how Eli has been imprisoned.
Lizbeth is on the cold side emotionally, her narration beyond dry and stilted.
This is by design, as this truly is a facet of her personality. This makes for
a difficult read, where I had a hard time connecting with Lizbeth. At the same
time, it also means when Lizbeth feels something, it hits the reader hard. Her
connection to her sister and Eli is strong, the emotions ringing true to impact
the reader. Her selflessness, her need to sacrifice to protect them, and her
unconditional love and desire to make sure they're happy.
Lizbeth, along with Eli's best friend, Felix (who doesn't particularly like
Lizbeth out of jealousy, as his draw to his best friend is more romantic in
nature, I suspect), put animosity aside and do everything in their power to
save Eli, which draws them into a political conspiracy, a plot to protect the
current tsar from his own uncle and cousin, as well as protecting Eli's family
from his older half-brothers.
Intriguing and fast-paced, the conspiracy is complex, the romance is an
undercurrent, more befitting a classic novel, the emotions more sedate.
One issue I've had with then entire series is the way information is delivered
in a stilted fashion, but I do understand that it is Lizbeth's way. Her daily
events are catalogued in a laundry list of point A to point B to point C to
point J with everything in between. Example: I took a bath, washed my hair,
redressed, took a nap, sought out something to eat. I found a hotel restaurant
and ate. Then I hit the street. Even when these events take place with other
characters, it's a laundry list with no dialogue, nothing that connects the
characters within the scene. I may understand why it's written this way, but it
doesn't make it more engaging having that understanding. It's still jarring yet
dry, filled with inane activities that usually are glossed over for the more
important details in the plot.
I do highly recommend, but it's hard to pinpoint which genre of readers to
recommend the series. I do believe that Charlaine Harris' fans will enjoy the
series for the most part. However, those who enjoyed Sookie's humor,
light-heartedness, warmth, and quirky every-woman vibe, they may be
disappointed in Lizbeth. Lizbeth Rose is a strong heroine, but that strength
also makes her seem cold, the emotions buried beneath logic and a hard
mentality due to how she was raised. Two highly different heroines written by
Charlaine Harris, drawing in different types of readers.
Sarah
– ☆☆☆☆
For the third time, Charlaine Harris plays with time, place, and historical
accuracy in her Gunnie Rose series. This time, Lizbeth is fighting to save Eli
from a political plot she doesn’t fully understand.
This is the book that made me fully engage with this series. During the first
two books, I found myself constantly distracted by unreliable historic details.
This time, I was too engrossed in the characters and the wonderfully
complicated plot to question anything. This story is an exciting adventure and
I love the characters who join Lizbeth in her efforts to save Eli and his
family.
This book is fun in a way that the first two books weren’t. Lizbeth’s sister is
wonderful and I’m already hoping we see more from her at some point. I love
Eli’s world. The mix of Russian and American elements in this story create an
unusual sense of drama. This isn’t my favourite of Charlaine Harris’ series but
after book three, I’m enjoying it much more than I expected to at the start of
book one. In some ways, this feels like a natural trilogy – but after finally
settling into the unique world Harris has created, I find myself hoping for
more.
BLOG NOTE: Per a Goodreads’ entry, there is currently a fourth
book planned in the Gunnie Rose series. So this may not be the last we see of
Lizbeth Rose after all.
CHARLAINE
HARRIS is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie
Stackhouse and Midnight, Texas, fantasy/mystery series and the Aurora
Teagarden, Harper Connelly, and Lily Bard mystery series. Her books have
inspired HBO’s True Blood, NBC’s Midnight, Texas, and the Aurora
Teagarden movies for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. She has lived in the
South her entire life.
Connect with
Charlaine
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose #3) by Charlaine Harris to read
and review.
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